Spectrum Headquarters Forum

After looking forward to this episode for weeks, I feel a bit let down. This is one of the weakest shown so far. The plot was so full of holes and implausabilities, it leaked like a sieve.

Yet again, a single agent was sent to foil a Mysteron plot....

Why did the shapeshifter leave Scarlet with his blaster when the Mysterons know he's indestructable?

Why did the yokel try and cut Scarlet's arm off to get his watch, when they'd already managed to remove his body armour and utility belt without having to cut his body into several pieces?

Of course, he needed his watch so that he could locate the handily placed Rhino.... I thought we'd got rid of secret hiding places with the Albatrosses....

Why didn't Scarlet go back for his blaster after reviving? I don't think the Clampetts would have put up much of a fight in front of a "zombie".......

Why was Spectrum so intent on killing Scarlet? Wouldn't it make sense to interrogate him first at least?

Why didn't the Shapeshifter shift into an atomic bomb, or meld itself into the Spectrum controls, or turn itself into something made from solid lead when Scarlet engaged it in a bout of fisticuffs, or a 400 pound gorilla? This REALLY made no sense...

It seemed as though Scarlet confronted the shapeshifter with no clear plan of action. With 10 minutes to go (and didn't they just FLY by? ), why bother with witty banter?

I would have expected Skybase to do some serious damage to buildings seeing as how it ended up so low to the city and seeing as how it's so massive. Good job the buildings were set so far apart then, eh? And with shatter-proof windows, too!

It may have been fast-paced but boy, was it silly.....

steviep wrote:It may have been fast-paced but boy, was it silly.....

Actually the title of this put me off to a degree but I was thoroughly impressed! Great idea that Scarlet would be suspected of becoming a Mysteron again, and well used I thought. Kim thought it an interesting about face from earlier episodes that Blue was the first to think Scarlet was telling the truth, and Destiny had learned not to trust a 'Mysteron' in Scarlet.

Skybase at night - a thing of beauty! Especially when descending through the clouds as well.

Yes, I did wonder how many windows got shattered in Houston that night.

With regard to the comment as to why the shape shifter didn't become something more destructive, it obviously had to 'absorb' the structure of something (though I did wonder where it got its 'Terminator-like' hammer arm)! (And as a writer you have to try and build suspense, not destroy it! )

I'm liking these later episodes - they crack along at a fair pace - the only downer is, yes perhaps it would be nice if they were longer and fleshed out stories and explanations a bit more. Me, I'm just enjoying the ride.

Worst part - very, very near the end of the series. I'm going to miss it.

shaqui wrote:Skybase at night - a thing of beauty! Especially when descending through the clouds as well.

I'll give you that - nice effect!

Yet again, a single agent was sent to foil a Mysteron plot....

That we saw. There might of been others outside. I was a little disspointed that we never got a clear idea of what exactly the mysterons were trying to do in the first place. Just that something would blow up and kill people.

Why did the shapeshifter leave Scarlet with his blaster when the Mysterons know he's indestructable?

He's virtually indestructible. Presumably a Crocodile is a mysteron's greatest weakness.

Why did the yokel try and cut Scarlet's arm off to get his watch, when they'd already managed to remove his body armour and utility belt without having to cut his body into several pieces?

They're hillbillies. Years of inbreeding has removed their ability to think logically

Of course, he needed his watch so that he could locate the handily placed Rhino.... I thought we'd got rid of secret hiding places with the Albatrosses....

Well he could of hardly radioed Spectrum to ask for an Albatross. Some plot devices are essential to make the episode work.

Why didn't Scarlet go back for his blaster after reviving? I don't think the Clampetts would have put up much of a fight in front of a "zombie".......

He was dead when they took his blaster. He wouldn't have any idea where to begin looking, wasting valuble time when he could of just got some weaponry from the Rhino anyway.

Why was Spectrum so intent on killing Scarlet? Wouldn't it make sense to interrogate him first at least?

Not judging from their previous attempts to interrogate mysterons.

It seemed as though Scarlet confronted the shapeshifter with no clear plan of action. With 10 minutes to go (and didn't they just FLY by? ), why bother with witty banter?

I thought chuck him into the plasma conduits was his plan from the start?

I would have expected Skybase to do some serious damage to buildings seeing as how it ended up so low to the city and seeing as how it's so massive. Good job the buildings were set so far apart then, eh? And with shatter-proof windows, too!

This I have to agree with. Also, on a similar note, wouldn't it make sense to install windows on Skybase that can survive more than one shot from a standard issue weapon?


Highlight for me would be the Rhino Chase. Is there anything those things can't survive? Except kamikazi hummingbirds, obviously

Toropiusu wrote:Also, on a similar note, wouldn't it make sense to install windows on Skybase that can survive more than one shot from a standard issue weapon?

Well interestingly, there was a comment by the hillbilly that the Spectrum gun (although he had no reason to know that Scarlet was shot by a similar weapon) 'must be something special to pierce that body armour'. I certainly didn't think the Spectrum sidearms are 'standard issue'. The fact they can switch to stun implies it may fire a variable level energy charge.

Well if they aren't standard issue for Spectrum agents, it begs the question what is, and why does nobody ever seem to want to use it?

I loved it, all the way through!!

Yes there were plot holes bigger than the grand canyon, but it was a big story condensed into 20 minutes, and very well tackled, I thought. A few extra seconds worth of viewing, such as Scarlet going back for his armour, might have made more sense but that would probably have taken hours more production time - somethings have to be cut or adapted and I don't mind that. It didn't spoil the story in the end, so why worry about it?

I loved the FX, really can't fault them!! The sewers, and the night-vision, was superbly done. Skybase sinking through the clouds and down toward Houston, fantastic. And I loved the story, with all the main characters taking their turn to be 'assimilated'!!

This one is definately one of my favourites.

The kids' verdict: 'The best bit was Skybase crashing down'
and the little one liked the crocodile, and Bad Captain Scarlet 'sneaking out and shooting Good Captain Scarlet'!!

Saturdays are just NOT going to be the same soon.....

Toropiusu wrote:Well if they aren't standard issue for Spectrum agents, it begs the question what is, and why does nobody ever seem to want to use it?

Well okay if these are 'standard issue' for Spectrum agents, one would also assume Skybase and the weapons (in fact we've seen) were designed and built before the Mysterons were known about?

Perhaps before, they assumed their own agents aren't going to be so stupid as to use them in that area? Especially on their maximum setting - whatever that is...

"Kill", as shown in Virus.

And since the plot of this episode revolves around Einstein's most fameous theory, it makes sense to give his second equal credit.

"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."

This one...no, not that good really. Nice alligator. Liked him.

Also liked the morphing effects...but it would have been interesting to see if this shapeshifter thing actually had a personality of its own...

Nice to hear Harmony, Melody and Rhapsody speaking again.

Weird the way everyone suddenly decided to kill Scarlet. No one seemed particularly bothered about it, or thought it was odd that a Mysteron would call up and say that he wasn't a Mysteron.

Also, White's suspected something like this would happen for a long time? Well...why keep him around? If they had any doubts at all, he should have been kicked out long ago. I think Scarlet'd proved himself time and again that he was a loyal agent, and unless this episode is meant to be seen quite early in the run, it really makes no sense. He's messed up the Mysterons plans at least twenty times - so if he was a double agent, he wasn't a very good one.

Nice to see Blue, Ochre, Magenta and Grey all together. I don't know why, but I just liked that shot...

'Destiny' goes to Green's quarters, and she just gets invited right in for absolutely no reason - and last week, Green just barged right into Destiny's quarters without even knocking...is something going on with them?

Kinggodzillak wrote:'Destiny' goes to Green's quarters, and she just gets invited right in for absolutely no reason - and last week, Green just barged right into Destiny's quarters without even knocking...is something going on with them?

Ooh... is someone going green with envy?

I can't believe people hated this episode I thoght it was great. It was "SYRTIS MAJOR" & "FALLEN ANGELS" that were the worst this episode was great. I liked the refrences to the first episode An Evil Scalret, Skybase crashing, White tells Scarlet & Blue that the shapeshifter welded the airvent which is how Blue gets to Scarlet in the first episode And somthing that looks like Scalret falls throught Skybases engins. The best part is when scarlet rises from the dead and the Hillbillies think he's a zombie.

I agree wholeheartedly with Kinggodzillak, the way they dismissed Scarlet as a traitor so eagerly just did not ring true, and otherwise spoilt the episode. There was plenty of other action to be getting along with without resorting to that plot device. And what was it with Destiny? Trying to show her macho side obviously...
Poor Scarlet. With colleagues and a girlfriend like her..who needs the Mysterons?

I liked the shot of the four captains together too...

I couldn't help thinking that these huge glass (I assume) windows in the gym would be way too vunerable to have on a military carrier, even if they did have steel shutters, rather like closing the stable door after the horse has bolted....

On the plus side...I did like the night shots of Cloudbase and Houston, and the matte shots..sewers, swamp, house, were beautifully rendered, and certainly the suspense was ramped up at the end, although it would have been good to see a whole bunch of blown out windows on these skyscrapers....okay..okay..maybe the budget wouldn't allow it....

Good thing those security guards White called to the gym didn't actually bother to turn up.

During the evacuation scene, there's a shot of some technicians running down a corridor...it seemed familiar, is it from an earlier episode?

It probably reminds you of Enigma.

Speaking of Enigma, what anti-air capabilites does Skybase actually possess? Apart from the Angels, there seems to be nothing that would prevent the Mysterons from attacking, and as it's been seen previously, they're very easy to draw away.